Editor's Note: Funding the Open Source Developer

Detailing the Option Source Project

April 6, 2000

There's always been an conflict between the practical and the idealistic in
the Open Source ethos, a conflict outlined by Eric Raymond in his description
of the Cathedral and the Bazaar: how to contribute to the Open Source movement
while also making a living. (Check it out
here: it's
a classic text and one that anyone serious about Open Source should read.) The
conflict has been further exacerbated by those arguing for Free Software as
opposed to Open Source software.

Those providing Linux distributions (Red Hat, MandrakeSoft, Corel) have
established their own business model: create a distribution, give away a basic
version, and then charge for a more fleshed-out distribution that includes
documentation. The same model is followed by larger Linux-software vendors
(Corel again, IBM, the folks behind Blender), who attempt to charge when adding
value to a basic, freely available package.

But what about the smaller Open Source developer, for whom this model just
won't work? There are a few projects underway that try to match developers with
those needing software development: collab.net, for instance, has done a fine job
of matching developers with customers in a bid-driven environment. In addition,
VA Linux Systems' SourceForge is a
good gathering place for developers, although SourceForge does nothing to
actually market the work of these developers and doesn't provide anything past
basic resources.

Enter Robert Heller and Merlin
Software Technologies, which is upping the ante by funding Open Source
projects with cash and Merlin stock options. The
Option Source project, which is
still under development, grew out of Merlin's own history as a commercial UNIX
software vendor that entered the Linux sphere.

"One of the things you realize is that there are a lot of people that
have written a lot of code that will never see the light of day," Heller
says. "They don't really want to just give it away, but they don't have
the resources to sell it."

The solution, Heller says, is an environment that gives developers the tools
for creating and marketing Open Source software. The details are still in the
works, but any tools created under this program must be released under a Merlin
Open Source license (based on the Mozilla license). Projects will be submitted
to an Option Source Advisory Council, which will then choose which projects
will receive funding and further support.

Heller is putting his money where his mouth is: Merlin has dedicated $1.8
million in cash and 1 million shares to the project, and he's in discussions
with investors regarding a private placement that would increase the size of
the fund.

For Open Source to grow, it needs more projects like Option Source. Linux
and the rest of the Open Source community has grown greatly with a huge amount
of volunteer support, but at some point we need to reach the next level and
make sure that programmers and volunteers can feed their families.